Jealous
by CineMariel
Summary: River isn't exactly excited to meet Oswin or see the Doctor in a chapter of his life that she is totally unfamiliar with. Takes place a bit in the future after The Snowmen.
1. Chapter 1:Possessive

**Author's Note: Hello! This story takes place sometime after The Snowmen when Oswin is The Doctor's companion. After their kiss, I thought it would be fitting that River met her and set things straight. I took a few liberties with where River and The Doctor are in their respective timestreams to make the story work. This is my first Doctor Who story (I don't own anything) so reviews are greatly appreciated.**

She had terrified him and the girl. But to be fair, seeing him with someone new always made him uneasy, but this girl. This girl she didn't even know. It would be enough to make anyone fly off the handle.

She didn't know which she hated more: the way she looked at him or the fact that she didn't know her.

This girl, this Oswin, didn't know River and River didn't know her. In any sense of the world. This meant that not only had he not told her he was married, he hadn't told her she existed. And most importantly, they had not met yet.

She was entering a period of his life that she knew nothing about. He was older than she had ever seen him. And that was terrifying. She hadn't met this girl, would she ever again? How long until she wouldn't see him anymore? Couldn't see him.

This was completely new to her. She'd seen him with her mother and her father. She had even seen him with Donna but none of them threatened her like this girl.

Hours ago she had walked right into the Tardis to find her wrapped around The Doctor, Her Doctor.

Obviously she had done what any possessive wife would do and pried the little sprite off of her husband, discharged her weapon and pinned her to the Tardis console. The new Tardis console. Another thing that was different.

This had made him fly off the handle in a truly adorable way. He flailed his arms around, shouting "River! Don't shoot! She's one of ours!"

After banishing this Oswin to her room he sat River down.

"River! What on earth were you doing?" he ran his hands through his hair, giving her that look that told her he had no idea what to do with her.

"Trust me, sweetie, this was not the homecoming I had imagined," she took out her diary, intending to write a furious entry.

"River, I-"

"Have we done Manhattan yet?" she tried to mask the emotion in her voice. As if this wasn't enough. She definitely didn't want to think about Manhattan.

"Yes," he said quietly, avoiding her eyes.

River flipped the pages in her diary but his hands closed around hers.

"River,"

She kept her eyes on the diary.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

_Never let him see the damage_. She remembered her own advice to Amy and was determined to say yes. But then she looked into his eyes and saw how open he was with her. How honest. He wasn't smiling mysteriously like he was planning something ridiculous? He wasn't challenging her? He just wanted to know if she was okay.

"No," she answered honestly, blinking back tears.

He stood up and pulled her into a hug. He held her gently for who knows how long, murmuring into her hair and gently kissing the top of your head.

"I missed you," he told her.

"Don't go getting all sentimental on me," River demanded, but he could hear the smile in her voice "I suppose I missed you too."


	2. Chapter 2: Prove It

She had wiped the tears from her eyes and the Doctor was dancing around the Tardis console. She held her tongue as he hit the wrong buttons and avoided the stabilizers at all costs.

"She must be a bit scared of me," River said, thinking of the terrified expression on the young girl's face as she aimed a pistol at her forehead.

"Oswin?" he asked "No, she's seen worse."

River couldn't help bristling. Seen worse than her? Worse that Melody Pond, the last of the Time Ladies who helped The Doctor fight both the weeping angels and The Silence. She didn't think so.

"So you took my advice? You're not traveling alone."

"To be honest," he told her "she kind of forced herself on me. I wanted be alone but when I saw her I just couldn't help myself."

You could say a lot of things about The Doctor. You could not call him tactful.

"You know if I'm getting in the way of something I can leave," she tried to keep the venom out of her voice.

He looked at her, eyes wide with shock. She couldn't help but feeling gratified that she got a rise out of him.

"After all," she added "I'm just the wife."

After a moment of gaping in surprise, The Doctor crossed the room until he was inches from her.

"River Song, don't be stupid," he said harshly "after everything we've been through you honestly think I would throw it all away."

He bent down until they were at eye level. She could feel his breath tickling her cheeks.

"I thought you were supposed to know me better than anyone," he practically whispered to her.

"And I thought I was the only woman in your life," River held her ground.

"You are," he replied as though it was obvious.

"Prove it,"

After giving her an exasperated look that lasted a fraction of a second, he closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to hers. He slid his hands around her waist and pulled her body closer to his. She eagerly ran a hand through his hair, pressing the other to his chest. She could feel him smile against her lips and she caught his bottom lip between hers and nipped at it. He laughed softly and so did she.

"You pass," she gave him a satisfied smile.

"I'm not so sure you do," The Doctor gave her an appraising look "I'll have to take you to my room for a more thorough inspection."

River gasped, not used to him moving things forward instead of her. She was used to pushing things. Maybe she could get used to this older doctor.

**Author's Note: I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. More to come! Including her confrontation with Oswin. **


	3. Chapter 3: Them

**Author's Note: Sorry about the gap between chapters! I haven't had a lot of time to write lately, but I hope you like this installment. **

She fell asleep as the Doctor gently traced patterns on her bare skin with his fingertips. The last thing she thought before she drifted off was that even though he infuriated her, she never felt more sure of herself and more at peace than when she was with him.

When she woke up, a slow smile spread across her face and she turned over, expecting to find her husband next to her.

But he wasn't there.

She felt the now cold spot where he had been the night before and sighed. He could never stay in the same place for long. But she couldn't fault him for that. It wasn't exactly her forte either.

She pulled on something from the wardrobe and walked out to the console room but she found it empty. But she could hear a voice drifting from somewhere. She followed it, coming to the door of one of the many bedrooms the Tardis housed.

"But I don't understand," the girl sounded exasperated. "you travel through space and time, often with a young impressionable girl, if what you've told me is true. How can you have a wife?"

"I just do, Oswin," the Doctor sounded frustrated.

"Then why did she pull a gun on me?" she asked.

"She doesn't know you," he told her.

"Well, of course she doesn't know me," she replied. "We've never met."

"River's a time traveler too," the Doctor explained. "She's from my past and my future. She's never met you and that scares her."

"Does it scare you?" Oswin asked.

River stood in the hallway, holding her breath, waiting for the Doctor to answer her. Was he just as scared as she was that their time was coming to an end? Did he already know what that end was?

"In my defense," River said, walking into the bedroom, unable to stay outside a second longer. "You did have your hands all over my husband. Pinning you to the console was mostly instinct."

"Mostly?" the girl asked. She sat on a bed in a room that she clearly had furnished herself. It was covered in mementos from the places she and the Doctor had visited together. River felt more than a prickle of annoyance at the evidence of their travels together.

River smiled.

"Doctor, might you give as a moment?" River asked, keeping her eyes on Oswin.

"I'm not sure if-"

"Just a moment."

The Doctor looked to Oswin who gave him a small nod. River gave the Doctor a wide smile before he left.

"Bye sweetie," she waved to him before turning to Oswin.

"I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot," Oswin told her. "I'm Clara Oswin Oswald."

She extended her hand to River for her to shake. River took it.

"I'm River Song. The Doctor's wife."

She dropped Oswin's hand.

"And I believe we got off on the exact right foot," River told her, still smiling.

"You do?" Oswin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I do," River took a seat in a chair opposite her. "I've met two of the Doctor's female companions. One of them was his best friend and the other was my mother. I've never had to worry about either one of them trying to steal my husband. Do I have to worry about you?"

But she didn't give her time to speak.

"Before you answer," River began again. "I should probably tell you that I've spent a significant portion of my life in a maximum security prison and I know how to handle myself."

She looked at the small girl in front of her. River couldn't deny that she was upset. The bond he shares with his companions. It was never a role she could fill. After Manhattan he'd asked her to travel with him but she knew he didn't mean it. Not really. He would have asked anyone then.

Unable to keep talking to this girl who'd filled the spot that she never could, she left the room. Leaving Oswin to think.


	4. Chapter 4: Scared

**Author's Note: Here's chapter four. It feels like an ending to me but if you'd like me to continue the story I'd be happy to do so. Let me know!**

River strode into the console room, not sure of what she was going to say but knowing that she needed to give the Doctor a piece of her mind.

"I hope you didn't scare her too much, River," the Doctor said from behind the console.

For some reason this infuriated River.

"Why?" she asked him. "Why shouldn't she be scared?"

"Because-"

"Because, I'm no threat to her?" River wouldn't let him speak.

"Are you a threat?" the Doctor asked, concerned.

"Perhaps," River's eyes flashed.

"River, what has gotten into you?" he asked. "I've had companions before. You know it's part of my life."

"That was different," she tried to keep her voice even. "Donna was your best friend and Amy and Rory were my parents. I understand what you had with them, but with her... she kept you traveling when I couldn't."

"Does that scare you?" he asked. His hands twitched, like he wanted to reach for her but thought better of it.

River looked at the floor of the new Tardis. Another thing she didn't know about before. Another new thing to be frightened of.

"Yes, Doctor," she whispered, blinking back tears. "It scares me. What you have with her... with _them_, it scares me."

He was quiet. He stared at her like she was a puzzle that he didn't know how to solve. She couldn't stand the silence. So she stifled a sob and tried to explain why this tiny girl scared her. Why all of his companions past and future scared her.

"Doctor, you show them new worlds. You change them, shape them, make them the people they become. I can't offer you that. You don't get to do that with me!"

"Exactly!" the Doctor cut her off, taking her hand. "I don't have to do any of that with you. You show me new things every time we meet. Each time with you is unpredictable. I never know what you'll do. What you'll see. What you'll teach me. With them, I'm the one taking them to places they've never been before, giving _them_ adventures. But when I'm with you, River... you are the adventure."

He paused, waiting for her reaction. He dropped her hand. He looked down at his shoes self consciously. Her pause extended, he began to fiddle with the settings on his sonic, desperate for her to reply. But she was stunned.

Being with the Doctor always felt like a game. She knew him better than anyone and even she couldn't tell where she stood with him most times. To hear that that was how he really felt...

She walked over to him and rested her palm on his cheek. She lifted his face up so she could get a better look at her husband.

She blinked back tears as she stared into his eyes. Those eyes that had seen everything. What could she possibly say to him that he didn't already know? That he hadn't already heard?

"I love you," she told him. "And I don't regret a thing. Every second we've spent together has meant everything to me. You're the best man I've ever known and I couldn't bear to lose you."

"I know," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.

She laughed gently.

"You know, don't you?" he asked quietly. "That I feel the same way. I know that sometimes I can-"

She put a finger to his lips.

"No more talking," she ordered before pressing her lips against his.


End file.
